Device and Method for Straightening and Supporting a Leaning Pole or Post

ABSTRACT

A set of two or more wedge-shaped braces are used to straighten and support a leaning pole or post, such as a utility pole that has been impacted by a vehicle or a storm. A first brace is inserted and driven down on the side of the hole toward which the pole is leaning, until the pole is restored to an upright position. A second brace is then inserted and driven down on the opposite side of the hole to support the pole in the upright position. If needed, additional braces are inserted and driven down into the hole around the circumference of the pole. The pole can thereby be supported in the upright position without backfilling the hole with soil or stone.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the general field of devices and/or methods used to install and support poles or posts in the ground, and more particularly to devices and/or methods for straightening a leaning pole/post and stabilizing and supporting it in an upright position after it has been straightened.

The prior art in this field has focused on pole/post support structures, but not on the problems associated with straightening a pole/post that is leaning to one side as a result of an accidental impact or environmental conditions.

The U.S. Patent of Fisher (U.S. Pat. No. 94,195) teaches fence post socket with wedge-shaped lower extremity. Here, however, the wedge has the function simply of enabling the post to be more easily driven into the ground.

In the U.S. Patent of Stephen (U.S. Pat. No. 306,657) wedges are used to secure a fence post within a capped tubular supporting sleeve. The wedges are not, however, used to align the post in an upright position nor to fill the void between the post and the sleeve. The U.S. Patent of Singley (U.S. Pat. No. 533,676) describes a fence post having a foot block with an inclined face that forms a wedge-shaped key seat when inserted into a cylindrical post socket. A conforming wedge key is inserted into the key seat to wedge the foot block tightly in the post socket. Although the wedge key does fill the void between the foot block and the socket, this device cannot be adapted for the purpose of straightening a tilted post. Its use also depends upon having a post with specially configured foot block.

The U.S. Patent of Crego (U.S. Pat. No. 905,794) discloses a method of forming a concrete base for a fence post, in which wedge-shaped filling pieces are inserted between the post and the wet cement to prevent the cement from cracking due to swelling of the wood as it absorbs water from the wet cement. It should be noted that the wedges of this invention are used to temporarily create voids between the post and its footing, not to fill them. Moreover, it has no potential application for aligning a slanted post.

The U.S. Patent of Chapman (U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,512) teaches a semi-tubular support bracket with a wedge-shaped driving member for reinforcing a post that has rotted below ground level. This device is explicitly designed for use in a “rigid, fixed aperture,” not a hole with sloping walls deformed by a leaning pole. Here, the wedge serves neither the function of aligning the pole nor filling the void between pole and aperture, but rather its function is restricted to receiving the impacts to drive the bracket into the aperture.

The U.S. Patent of Beard (U.S. Pat. No. 6,343,446) describes a tubular sign post anchor with rectangular projecting fins. The sole purpose of the fins, however, is stabilization, and they are not adaptable to the functions straightening a leaning post or filling the voids around it.

The U.S. Patent of Riker (U.S. Pat. No. 7,003,919) discloses a post mounting assembly in which a tubular socket is set in concrete within the post hole, and a tapered half-cylindrical wedge member fills the gap between the socket and the post. Here again, the wedge can be used only in conjunction with an aperture with rigid vertical walls, and it's not adaptable to filling an irregular void with oblique sidewalls. Moreover, the half-cylindrical shape and the minimal taper of the

Riker wedge renders it difficult, if not impossible, to insert at the leading edge of a tilted pole and almost useless in terms of applying leverage to straighten the pole.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention uses elongated wedge-shaped braces, each having a triangular side cross-section and a rectangular base cross-section. The length of the brace is in the range of 1 to 3 feet, depending on the size of the pole/post to be straightened, with base dimensions of 3 to 6 inches by 6 to 10 inches. Its vertex angle is in the range of 5 to 25 degrees, preferably 10 to 15 degrees. Its material is a treated wood, such as pine or cedar, or a composite. A rigid metal top plate is preferably attached to the base to absorb impacts.

The method of righting a leaning pole or pole is to pull the pole/post back away from the leading side of the hole toward which it's leaning Then a first brace is driven into the leading side of the hole with either of its longer sides against the side of the pole/post, depending on the slope and configuration of the hole. As the pole/post comes upright, a second brace is driven into the trailing side of the hole, so that the two braces hold the pole/post upright and fill the voids on either side between the pole/post and the sides of the hole. This procedure avoids the need to find fill material, such as rocks or soil, to fill the voids, as the two braces remain in the hole to stabilize the pole/post after it's righted.

In cases where a pair of braces on opposite sides of the pole/post do not suffice to straighten and support it, multiple braces can be driven into the leading and/or trailing side of the hole, or wedges can be driven in at various positions around the circumference of the pole/post.

The foregoing summarizes the general design features of the present invention. In the following sections, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in some detail. These specific embodiments are intended to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the present invention in accordance with the general design features discussed above. Therefore, the detailed descriptions of these embodiments are offered for illustrative and exemplary purposes only, and they are not intended to limit the scope either of the foregoing summary description or of the claims which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an exemplary brace in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 1B is a side profile view of the exemplary brace of FIG. 1A;

FIG. 1C is a front profile view of the exemplary brace of FIG. 1A;

FIGS. 2A-2C are exemplary illustrations of the method for straightening and supporting a leaning utility pole in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Depicted in FIGS. 1A-1C, is an exemplary version of a brace 10 in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. The brace 10 is generally wedge-shaped, with two right-triangular side sections 11, rectangular front and rear sections 12, and a rectangular base section 13. The brace 10 comprises five faces: (1) an inclined rectangular front face 14, the long sides of which are the hypotenuses of the side sections 11, (2) a flat rectangular back face 15, (3) a flat rectangular base face 16, and (4-5) two flat right-triangular side faces 17. The line along which the front face 14 and the back face 15 meet forms the vertex 24 of the brace 10. In this illustrative example, the length of the back face 15 and the side faces 17 is 2 feet, the width of the front face 14 and the back face 15 is 8 inches, and the base face 16 is 5 inches long by 8 inches wide. To facilitate maneuvering the brace 10 in a hole, a 45° beveled notch 18 is provided between the back face 15 and the base face 16.

The brace 10 can be made of treated wood, such as pine or cedar, or a composite material. If wood is used, the base face is reinforced with a metallic base plate 19 to absorb the impact of a hammer or maul when driving the brace 10 into a hole.

FIGS. 2A-2C illustrate the method by which two braces 10 are used to straighten and support a leaning pole or post—in this case a utility pole 20. The hole 21 in which the leaning pole 20 sits has a leading edge 22, toward which the pole 20 is leaning, and a trailing edge 23, away from which the pole 20 is leaning.

The pole 20 is first pulled or pushed away from the hole's leading edge 22 sufficiently to insert the vertex 24 of a first brace 25 between the pole 20 and the hole's leading edge 22. The first brace 25 is then inserted with its vertex 24 downward into the hole 21 between the pole 20 and the leading edge 22. Next the first brace 20 is driven downward between the pole 20 and the hole's leading edge 22 by applying impact force to its base face 16, thereby pushing the pole 20 away from the hole's leading edge 22 and into an upright position. After the pole 20 is upright, a second brace 26 is inserted with its vertex 24 downward between the pole 20 and the hole's trailing edge 23. The second brace 26 is then driven downward between the pole 20 and the hole's leading edge 22 by applying impact force to its base face 16, thereby supporting the pole 20 in an upright position, in cooperation with the first brace 25.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many additions, modifications and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the accompanying claims. 

1. A set of two or more wedge-shaped braces for cooperatively straightening and supporting a leaning pole or post, each brace comprising: an inclined flat rectangular front face, a flat rectangular back face, a flat rectangular base 5 face, two flat triangular side faces, and a vertex angle formed by the intersection of the front face and the back face; wherein each brace has a length in the range of 1 to 3 feet, and wherein the vertex angle of each brace is in the range of 5 to 20 degrees; and wherein the two or more braces are sequentially insertable around the circumference of 10 the pole or post so as to restore the pole or post to an upright position and so as to cooperatively support the pole or post in the upright position.
 2. The set of braces according to claim 1, wherein for each brace the side faces are right-rectangular, such that the intersection of the back face and the base face forms a base angle that is 90 degrees.
 3. The set of braces according to claim 2, wherein for each brace the base angle is beveled.
 4. The set of braces according to claim 3, wherein for each brace the base face is reinforced with a metallic plate.
 5. A method for using a two or more wedge-shaped braces, each having a flat base and an acute vertex, to straighten and support a leaning pole or post in a hole, the method comprising: pulling or pushing the pole or post away from a leading edge of the hole, toward which the pole or post is leaning; inserting a first brace with its vertex downward between the pole or post and the leading edge of the hole; driving the first brace downward between the pole or post and the leading edge of the hole, by applying impact force to the base of the first brace, thereby pushing the pole or post away from the leading edge of the hole and into an upright position; after the pole or post is in the upright position, inserting the second brace with its vertex downward between the pole or post and a trailing edge of the hole, which is opposite to the leading edge of the hole; driving the second brace downward between the pole or post and the trailing edge of the hole, by applying impact force to the base of the second brace, thereby supporting the pole or post in the upright position in cooperation with the first brace; and in order to further straighten or support the pole or post, sequentially inserting one or more additional braces around the circumference of the pole or post and sequentially driving each of the additional braces downward into the hole by applying impact force to the base of each additional brace.
 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein each of the wedge-shaped braces further comprises an inclined flat rectangular front face, a flat rectangular back face, and two flat triangular side faces, and wherein the base comprises a flat rectangular base face, and wherein the vertex comprises a vertex angle formed by the intersection of the front face and the back face, and wherein each brace has a length in the range of 1 to 3 feet, and wherein the vertex angle of each brace is in the range of 5 to 20 degrees.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein for each of the wedge-shaped braces the side faces are right-rectangular, such that the intersection of the back face and the base face forms a base angle that is 90 degrees.
 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein for each of the wedge-shaped braces the intersection of the back face and the base face is beveled.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein for each of the wedge-shaped braces the base face is reinforced with a metallic plate. 